Helle Thorning-Schmidt is all set to replace Jasmine Whitbread, as the new head of the independent children's charity organisation.

London: Save the Children International announces the appointment of Helle Thorning-Schmidt as its new Chief Executive. The former Danish Prime Minister replaces Jasmine Whitbread as head of the umbrella organisation for the Save the Children movement, the world's leading independent children's charity, with responsibility for programmes reaching over 55 million children in 120 countries.

Alan Parker, Chairman of Save the Children International said, “We are very pleased to appoint a new CEO with a proven track record of international leadership and a passion to improve the world for children. As an organisation, we are dedicated to helping those children who need it most wherever they are in the world. There is a real opportunity to deliver further significant progress in the coming decade, particularly in the areas of child mortality, education and child protection. At the same time, we are being called on to respond to an increasing number of humanitarian crises affecting children all over the world."

"In the 21st century, with all of the capabilities we now have, it is simply not right that so many children continue to suffer and die unnecessarily and to be held back from fulfilling their potential. Helle shares this conviction deeply and I believe that she can play a real role in helping to increase our impact and deliver real improvements for children. The Save the Children organisations around the world are working together to try to transform the future for the most vulnerable children, and Helle’s experience and capabilities will be a great asset as we look to deliver on this ambition.”

Helle will take up her position on April 4th 2016, and will be based at Save the Children International’s headquarters in London.

Commenting on her appointment, Helle Thorning-Schmidt said: “I am deeply honoured to be given the opportunity to lead Save the Children International. In recent decades the world has made unprecedented progress in reducing child mortality, and the work of organisations like Save the Children has made a huge difference. But as we see every day, there is still much more to do to rescue children from suffering and danger and give them a future.”

“Children’s protection, rights and development have always been close to my heart, and I look forward to doing everything I can to help us deliver on our bold but simple ambitions: that no child under five dies from preventable causes, all children get access to quality education and that no child should live with violence and abuse. Save the Children has been at the forefront of fighting for children's rights since its foundation and I am delighted to follow in that tradition by building on Jasmine’s fine work. I couldn’t imagine a better cause and I look forward to meeting and working with our dedicated staff around the world.”

“As we embark on supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, clearly needing to accomplish the most in terms of reaching out to India’s marginalized and secluded children,” added Thomas Chandy, Save the Children’s CEO in India, “we welcome the SCI CEO with the hope that she will provide fresh momentum to tackle challenges related to education, health and protection of children, in the challenging scenarios of widening inequality, conflict, urban-rural divide and increasing climate change problems across the southern world – where no children will be left behind in terms of their development and well-being.”